


Time in the Past

by BooksAreMyVideogames



Category: The Umbrella Academy (Comics), The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Dave & Klaus Hargreeves During Vietnam, Family, Fix-It, Gay Characters, Klaus loves Dave, Klaus/Dave - Freeform, Multi, Queer Characters, Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting, Romance, Time Travel, Vietnam War, actually i do, cheesy goodness, luther is trash, sorry i dont make the rules
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-14
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2020-01-13 10:13:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18466861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BooksAreMyVideogames/pseuds/BooksAreMyVideogames
Summary: What if Klaus spent much, much longer in the past?





	Time in the Past

Klaus danced around the apartment, cuddling a large fluffy cat in his arms, the smell of cookies flooding his senses. He had finally made it. He was happy. He heard the door open and turned to greet the person there. Dave. His husband. He loved saying those words. His husband. It may not be legally binding, since that wouldn't come for a few more decades, but it was binding in every way that mattered to them. 

Dave had a giant grin on his face as he walked towards Klaus, reaching out to pull him into his arms. He kissed him gently before twirling him around the room, their rings glinting in the lamp light. 

“I swear, I will never understand how intuitive you are, deciding to pack before it was even approved.”

Klaus gasped. “We got it?”

“We got it! Our very own house!!! A few acres of land, a porch, and a fireplace to cuddle in front of. Everything we wanted, and we can move in tonight!” He dangled the keys in front of his lovers eyes. 

Klaus grasped onto the front of Dave's shirt and yanked him in for another kiss, firmer this time, celebratory. He grinned against the other's lips and whispered, “good thing I already packed then, huh, soldier boy?”

“A very good thing, love. We can put the mattress in the truck, and have the movers come tomorrow for the rest of the furniture. Would you go grab the bags while I take care of that?”

“Of course, darling! Anything for you.” Klaus went to grab the suitcases, and saw the briefcase sitting next to them. Did he want to bring it? It would always be a reminder of what he left behind. He shrugged and grabbed it. He'd keep it safe, and put it somewhere in the house it could be remembered. 

“Klaus! I have the mattress strapped in, are you ready to go?” Klaus ran out to meet him, suitcase and briefcase in hand. He didn't see Dave walking through the door until it was too late. He put his hand out out to catch himself, forgetting the briefcase that was in his hand. It slammed into Dave's chest and popped open, with a flash of blue light, they were gone.

\----------  
2019

The people on the bus looked up at the flash of blue light, but looked down again quickly, uninterested. Dave and Klaus looked at each other, shocked. Dave turned to the man next to him.  
“Excuse me sir, could I borrow your newspaper for a moment?” It was handled over, and Dave flipped to the front so he and Klaus could read the date. 

“Well shit.” Dave grabbed Klaus' hand before he could start panicking, as he knew his husband was about to do. “Hey, breathe. It's going to be ok. Do you remember what stop we need, or should we get off now?” 

“Uh, yeah, yeah. It's the next stop, I think. Guess you get to meeting family after all, huh?” He took a deep breath before standing up and pulling the line to request the next stop. 

“What if… what if we just opened the briefcase and went home? No big deal, right? Back to our house, back to Patches?” Klaus knew he was cursed. As soon as he finished speaking, the case started sparking. “Guess my cookies are going to burn. Or have burnt, huh? I hope someone stopped by to turn the stove off.” He giggled a little. Dave knee the more anxious and stressed he was, the more Klaus would talk. He squeezed his hand again to ground him. 

“Hey, it's going to be alright. We can make more cookies, and I'm sure Patches found a happy home with a little kid to love her and cuddle with her. Let's just get to the academy so you can introduce me to everyone, ok? I want to meet the people who made my husband what he is.” With those words Dave lifted their intwined hands and kissed the back of Klaus’ before pulling him into a hug. 

“On second thought! Let's not go back there! We can go anywhere, Dave! Let's go to Disney World, or Hawaii, or London! Anywhere!” Klaus was shaking now, as they approached the building. 

“Nope, we're already here sweetheart, you've got this, you're going to be fine. Hey, hey Klaus, are you ok?” Klaus had frozen in place, staring at one completely empty space. There were tears streaming down his face.

“Ben.”

“Where the hell did you go, Klaus??? You completely disappeared, like you didn't exist! I couldnt feel you at all, what did you do, you dumbass???” Before he could continue with his rant, Klaus had sprinted towards him and flung his arms around him and was sobbing around his neck. “How the hell are you doing this, Klaus???” 

“It's a log, long, long story Benny.” He motioned towards Dave. “This is my husband. Dave, this is my brother, Ben, can you see him?” 

“Yeah sweetheart, I can. I'm so proud of you for doing it, I knew you could!” 

Klaus gave a giant grin in response and squeezed Ben tight before letting him go. Ben silently mourned the loss of contact. “This is incredible, Klaus. How are you doing this? When did you learn, shouldn't you have to be clean to do this?” 

“Oh darling brother o mine, I've been clean for years now! Well, minus the occasional blunt, but that's between Dave and me.” He winked at the other man. “Now, we should probably go in, right? See everybody else?”

“Yes, we should.” Dave marched up to stand besides Klaus again, and curled his arm around him in support. Ben stood on his other side, touching his arm softly. They were there for him, and made sure he knew it. Dave knee that he was good at hiding his emotions, covering them with jokes, and laughter, and cheesy fake grins. He also knew his husband was terrified of going back into this house, and he was going to be with him every step of the way. 

\---------  
They met Five first. They'd sat down on a couch that Dave was sure had been an antique in his own time, waiting for someone, anyone to walk in. 

“There you are Four, where have you been? Come on, we've got shit to do.” Dave was firmly not impressed by Klaus’ first live sibling. He saw how the boy didn't even bother to look at his brother, just gesturing and turning away as though he expected Klaus to follow his orders, not even acknowledging the other two people with him.

“There is absolutely no reason to talk to him like that. Please apologise.” Dave regretted his words as soon as the teen turned towards him, eyes glinting.  
“And who are you? His newest side piece? Dealer? Klaus, get him out of here and come with me.” 

Klaus stood and walked towards Five, a dangerous look on his face. He jabbed a finger into Fives chest and spoke, very quietly, and very firmly. “You will not talk to my husband like that. You will not talk to me like that. I am not a pup to follow you around on a leash, and I am not a child. I've done nothing to deserve being talked to like that.”

Then, Ben spoke up. “Five you really need to reconsider the way you communicate with people, I know you were alone for a long time, but you're not alone anymore, and you need to chill.” 

“And who are you?” 

“What you don't remember your favorite brother? I know you haven't been able to see me lately, but I've been here.” Ben kicked back and threw his arms behind his head, looking to all the world as relaxed as could be.

Five gaped. 

Klaus laughed and clapped his hands. “SURPRISE!” he twirled around and patted Five on the head. “Now, you go do whatever you were planning on doing, and we'll wait here for our other siblings. Unless you want to stay, of course. I'm only telling the story once.”

\---------

Diego was the next one to show up, he took in the scene, his little brother Klaus sitting on the couch between two very different looking men, and Five sitting at the bar nursing a drink. 

Klaus looked… different. For one, he was wearing clean clothes, and not one of them was black. His hair was cut, and his shirt curls spring wildly from his head, and his face was clean shaven for the first time since they were teens. He looked healthy too. He’d never be anything more than lithe, but at least he could use the description lithe, instead of skeleton-like. His skin looked brighter and warmer. More than any of this though, he looked happy. He was smiling, not one of those ridiculous, almost crazed grins he always used to give, but a true, content smile. His eyes were bright and clear, not hazed and unfocused from too much drug use. He was clean! Diego couldn’t help but smile at this revelation. 

Next he looked at the two men on either side of his brother. The one on his left, the one his was holding hands with, and isn’t that interesting, was stocky, he too had curly hair, though it was much lighter colored, with dark eyes. His style was decades old, in fact… was he wearing bell bottoms? Weird. But he had a calm confidence to him that Diego immediately admired. 

The one on the left looked familiar, and as Diego observed him, he got a wink, wait…

“What the fuck, Ben?????”

“Yeah, what’s up bro?” Ben lounged there, not bothering to respond, other than those four words. 

“H-h-how are you h-here???” At this question, Ben pointed to Klaus. Klaus just shrugged and waved a tattooed hand at him, grinning. Diego thought that summed up the situation pretty well. “S-s-so, wanna tell me wh-who he is?” He pointed at Dave. 

“Oh, this is my husband, Dave! Say hello, Dave!” Klaus tossed an arm around the man as he spoke. 

“Hello, Dave.” Diego’s eyebrows rose. Apparently the man had a sense of humor. Good. Klaus brought his arm down to elbow him in the ribs, but Dave pulled him too close to do it. Diego watched the interaction with amusement and sat down on the couch across from them. 

\-----------  
Luther was the next to walk in, and he didn’t even bother acknowledging Klaus, or the two with him. He walked straight up to Diego. “Where did you go? First you left, then Five flashed out on me. I had no idea where you were.”

“What does it matter to you, big boy? I go where I want, and need I remind you, you were in my home.” Diego rolled his eyes and turned his back to Luther. 

“Hey, don’t turn away from me! It matters because we’re a team, I need to know these things. We need to focus on the apocalypse that’s coming!” Klaus jerked and sat up straight. This was news to him. 

“What are you talking about, apocalypse?”

“Some leader you are, ignoring two members of your team.” Ben held back a cackle as Diego snapped at Luther. Their biggest brother turned towards the couch the trio were sitting on and glared at them. 

“Klaus, get these people out of here. We need to have a family meeting. Allison should be here soon.” 

“No can do buddy, they are family. Also, what about Vanya? If we’re having a family meeting, vanya needs to be here. Text her. Now.” Klaus’ voice was firm, tired of being ignored and bossed around. He was several years older than when he left, and he was not the same person that they knew. 

“Klaus, stop screwing around and get them out of here.”

“What’s the matter, Spaceboy? Don’t you recognize your favorite number Six?” Ben spoke quietly, nearly whispering. 

“I don’t know who you are, but Ben is dead. This joke wasn’t funny when it started, and it’s definitely not funny now. Leave. In fact, take Klaus with you.” Ben reeled back at the ferocity of his brother’s words. Dave just sat, observing the way everyone reacted, squeezing Klaus’ hand tighter. 

Klaus frowned. “Do. Not. Talk. To. Ben. Like. That. If you wanna have this family meeting, you’d better hope Vanya and Allison get here soon, because we’re about to walk out. Fuck your apocalypse.” Three out his four brothers turned to him, shocked at hearing him speak so sharply to any of them, even Luther. Ben had a small smile on his face, perched on the edge of the couch with his arms crossed, to all appearances, not upset at all by Luther’s words. 

As he spoke his grin got bigger and bigger until it looked as though it were going to split his face. “Hey spaceboy, did you ever find a chick willing to sleep with you, or are you still too much of a prude to try?” With that he sent his signature wink and leaned back against Klaus. 

Luther’s face turned red as a beet. He had never talked to anyone about that except… “Ben?” 

“That’s my name, I really think you guys are starting to wear it out though. Maybe I should go back to Six?”

“Nah,” Klaus had a cheeky grin on his face, “You haven’t been Six in a long time. It wouldn’t fit you now.” 

“I thought you couldn’t use your powers when you’re high. How are you doing this?” Luther demanded from the smaller man. Klaus took a deep breath and squeezed Dave’s hand before standing up. 

“You have no idea who I am, do you? Who I am as a person, my personality, my likes and dislikes. Diego, now he could tell immediately. He didn’t even bother saying anything because he knew. But we’ve been sitting here chatting for a solid 10 minutes, and you’ve got no clue. About anything! News flash jackass, I’ve been clean for years! So go screw yourself, since apparently you can’t find anybody to do it with you!”

 

\-----------

This was the scene that Allison and Vanya walked in on, already exhausted from their own drama for the night. 

“Years? Klaus, what happened to you, where have you been the last couple of day?” Allison spoke first, although Vanya was following right behind her. 

“Ben? Ben is that you?” Allison gasped and turned to where Vanya was looking. Klaus clapped his hands before anyone could say anything else. 

“Yes, yes, it is Ben. My powers are awesome, thank you very much. But we’ve got lots to cover, so everybody sit down and get relaxed. 

“Yeah, we need to talk about the apocalypse.” Luther input. 

“Definitely not what I was talking about, but sure Luther, we can start with that.” Klaus gestured for him to continue, and Five flashed over to stand inside the group. 

“The apocalypse is in 4 days. You all need to get your shit together so we can figure out who causes this, and how to fix it. Unfortunately, our only solid lead has been destroyed, so we need to start hunting down answers. Somebody needs to go through dad’s things and find out if he knew something about this. It’s oddly suspicious that he kicked it 8 days before the end of the world. We also need to go to the police station and find out if anyone knows anything, or if there are any insidious records we can find-”

Dave spoke up before he could continue.  
He was soft spoken and mild mannered, but he had an edge to his voice that made every hargreeves in the room stop what they were doing and listen.

“Stop. Klaus has been through a very difficult life change, and several years of it in fact. Not a single one of you asked him if he was ok, even if he'd only been missing for two days for the rest of you, that's disgusting. I would never treat my sister the way I've seen you treat each other. It's shameful. You're all going to sit down, you're going to listen to him, and you're not going to interrupt. Agreed?” The was silence in the room as Allison and Vanya nodded their heads, while the others just clenched their teeth in anger. “Good. Klaus, darling?”

Klaus clapped his hands in glee. “Great news kiddos! I'm nearly 7 years older than the rest of you lot, that makes me the oldest, not counting you Five, but you do look like a thirteen years old, so it does kiiinnnnda count…”

“No it doesn't, shut up.”

“Anyway, i guess the story starts here…”

…

Klaus had been dancing around the house after his bath, trying to soothe his mind, and block out the ghosts. He had his eyes closed as he swayed to the music coming from his head phones. He didn't even hear the man come up behind him until it was too late. He was whacked on the temple and everything went black. Next thing he knew, he was in a trunk, mouth taped shut and zip ties around his wrists.

He spent the next two days being beaten half to death and being surrounded by ghosts. By the time the cop lady showed up, he was half sure he was dead himself, but he wasn't, and as the cop was distracted with fighting off the two creepers in children's masks, he lunged over the bed, climbed through the vents, pushing a briefcase in front of him, and then running through the streets in nothing but a towel and a coat, holding the briefcase. He hoped it had something worthwhile in it, because it was heavy as hell, and he needed to get high. By this point the ghosts were swarming him, and he couldn't even see Ben in the mess.

Klaus waited until he was on the bus to open the briefcase, and then, with a flash,he was gone, and somewhere completely different. 

\----------  
The first things he saw were brown eyes, staring at him in surprise. They were attached to a man sitting up in his rack. Then, he was being screamed at, he could here bombs whizzing by and exploding, and a helmet was being shoved in his hands while he pulled on a pair of pants. 

\------

The next few months were a blur, learning how to shoot a gun, learning to march, learning to fight. The boys were getting irritated with him, he could tell. But he finally was able to have their backs when the ghosts warned him of land mines ahead. He saved the entire platoon that day, and shrugged it off with a casual mention of a gut feeling. But then it happened again, and again and again. The soldiers welcomed him into their midsts. They waved away his strangeness and blatant flamboyance. It didn't matter to them, they knew he had their backs. Of course, there were issues here and there, but the men took care of them without Klaus even realizing. He'd made friends, and Dave Katz was leading the quiet mission to protect Klaus. 

The nightmares never went away, but the rest of the men had them too, Alfie woke up screaming, having seen his girl in the middle of the battle field. Roger's would sit up, still shaking, after watching his best friend's leg get blown off. All of them were fucked at this point and Klaus remembered his history lessons. One of the most violent, bloody, and pointless wars that America had ever taken part in. He kept the opinion to himself that he thought all wars we're pointless and evil. 

\------  
Finally they were given leave and sent into the nearest Vietnamese city for a week. With broken Vietnamese and English, they found the closest bars and the troops split, going their different ways to explore. After doing some shopping, he and Dave ended up in some disco club. After some drinks he and Dave ended up behind a beaded curtain, kissing. After some kissing they ended up in a hotel, where they stayed for the rest of the leave period.

From that time on they were inseparable, Dave and Klaus, Klaus and Dave. Katz and Hargreeves. Their CO knew they had each other's backs, and stationed their watch rotations together. They lay together in the trenches, Klaus’ sharp eye and Dave's impecct shot making them a formidable team. 

Two years of hell passed, with only short breaks of release. There were bad moments, when Klaus almost got his arm blown off trying to save a soldier who ended up being a ghost. Dave got shot, but it hit bone, and medic got there before it was too late. Klaus thought that might've been the most terrified he'd ever been in his life, watching his love start to pass in his arms while he screamed for help. But Dave got better, and they moved on and then they were done. Their time was up and they were flown back to America. People walked up and thanked them, people walked up and spat on them. 

Klaus was terrified. Dave would leave him now, of course, go back home and find someone to settle down with. But he didn't. 

\-----  
“Wait, you're expecting me to believe you, shrimpy little Seance, staunch pacifist, fought in a war? Yeah right.” Luther scoffed and rolled his eyes. “This little story session is a waste of time. I can't believe we're listening to this bullshit.” He stood up and started to leave.

“Sit. Down. Spaceboy. My story is nowhere near finished.” Luther froze as he heard the tone of Klaus’ voice. It was clear and sharp and cutting. Nothing he had ever heard from his brother before. He sat. 

\-------  
They got hotel rooms as they traveled west, back towards Dave's family together. They stayed with the Katz’s for a while, and Klaus felt welcomed and loved the whole time. They moved two towns south, somewhere slightly more liberal, and got an apartment. Klaus started painting and drawing. People started to buy his paintings and drawings. Dave got a job in construction. It was hard work, but it was fulfilling and paid well. He got fired when they realized he was living with another man. That happened three more times before he found an employer that couldn't care less. They paid their rent, bought groceries, and smoked too much, dancing around their rooms as they did. They put a little money aside each month for their dream of a little house in the woods. Klaus used less and less drugs until he was totally clean. Well, except for weed, but who counted that? 

\------  
“I do. I count that.” Luther snapped, still feeling upset from how he'd been talked to earlier.

“Well nobody else does, so get over it big boy.” Klaus dismissed his interruption with a wave of his hand.

\-------

Dave had been setting money aside. Klaus saw this and it scared him. Was Dave finally gotten tired of him? Was he going to leave him? He'd driven himself into a panic by the time Dave got home from work. He'd deep cleaned everything in the apartment, baked several pies and cookies, knitted a pair of socks, and given Patches a bath by the end of the day and was currently curled up on the couch, sobbing his eyes out and trying to fight the urge to go out and find something to numb his feelings. That was how Dave found him when he arrived home, groceries in hand. The soldier dropped the bags on the table and ran over to the couch, pulling the other man into his arms and immediately asking him what was wrong. Klaus was shaking so hard he couldn't speak. He pointed to the box where Dave kept his savings. Dave understood now. He rocked him back and forth and reassured him that it wasn't what he thought. He wasn't leaving, he could never leave him. His love, his heart. And then, he let go and got on his knees. Dave asked Klaus to marry him. He didn't care that it wasn't legal, that it wouldn't be recognized anywhere but in their and their families hearts, he loved him and wanted to be with him forever. 

The next day he came back with two rings that made Klaus squeal in delight. They were perfect. 

They got married in a wildflower field, surrounded by their friends, family, and fellow soldiers. Their former CO married them. They did a hand wrapping ceremony that certainly did not represent their religions, but it didn't matter, because it represented their relationship. It was perfect. 

\-----  
Allison gasped as she looked down at Klaus' hand. “You really got married???” Klaus it's beautiful! It suits you perfectly!” Klaus grinned and waved his hand.  
“Why thank you darling! And do you see my bracelet?” He held out his wrist. “These are our handfasting ribbons. We got them turned into bracelets so we could keep them forever!” 

“Oh, Klaus, that is perfect!”

“I know, right??? Now! Back to the story!”

\--------

They moved apartments a few more times as they got more financially and emotionally stable. The war had done a number on them both, discounting Klaus’ history, and they were healing from it slowly but surely. They had Sunday dinners with Dave's mother and sisters, and they would come home with Klaus sobbing in his arms, missing his own siblings. They kept the briefcase with them no matter where they lived, but they didn't touch it more than they had to. It was a fair trade-off in Klaus’ opinion, a happy, healthy, and peaceful life in exchange for his siblings. He hated it, and himself, for feeling that way, but it was true nonetheless. 

They'd been at their current apartment for a little over a year when they found their dream house, and offered for it. They had the money, they'd been setting aside every cent possible for years now. They did nothing that cost money, and they worked small jobs on the side to out away more. Klaus led a knitting group, where they sold their work and split the profit. He also worked for the city, going out into the parks and picking up trash, cleaning, whatever they needed him to do. 

Dave continued to work construction, getting up to the point where he was taking his own jobs, and running a team of workers. 

And then they got the house. And then they came back.  
And here they were.

\---------  
“And that's that! My life for the last seven years! Yay! Who wants a drink?” Klaus clapped his hands and spun in a circle, looking at each of his siblings, as well as his husband. “No, nobody? Just me then?” He walked to the bar and poured two glasses, and handed one to Dave, who accepted it gratefully. 

Luther stood up violently, pushing Klaus out of his way as he walked towards the door. “I thought you were going to be serious for once in your life, Four, but I was proven wrong once again, congratulations for wasting three hours of our lives though.” He stalked out and slammed the door behind him. Dave, who had caught Klaus from falling, gently set him down, and handed his drink to him. Klaus caught his arm before he could walk too far. 

“Don’t bother love. He’s always been this way, and I think it’s a little too late for him to change his spots now. Besides, you’d probably break your arm if you tried punching him.” Diego cackled, loving the idea of this stocky man walking up to his giant of a brother and giving him a good whack. 

“Boy would we love to see it though!” Allison elbowed him at his exclamation, though she was trying to hide her own smile as she did. 

“Just ignore him Klaus, hey we need to go shopping like, immediately! While the 70s were an interesting time period for style, you guys are waayyy outdated. Ooooh, Klaus, we can get our nails done too!!” She looked towards Vanya, who seemed to be slipping into the shadows as she always did when they were children. “You’re coming too, right sis?”

Vanya looked up with a jerk. “Um, yeah, sure. I just wasn’t sure you’d want me hanging around. I can go home, it’s fine. Leonard is probably worried about me since you pulled me away from our date.”

“Oh… well we would really like it if you decided to come. It’s okay if you don’t want to!”

“You know what? I would like to. Thanks Allison.”

Vanya had barely finished speaking when Five flashed into the middle of the room. He plucked Klaus’ drink out of his hands before he spoke. “Well, this has been fun, but we still have an apocalypse to stop. Congratulations on your extra years, Klaus. Diego, you coming with me?”

“Uuuh, n-no. I’m staying with Klaus for a while.”

“Useless, every single one of you. Alright then, see you later.” With that he flashed out.  
Klaus giggled, a little hysterically. “Well that was fun. Wasn’t that fun, Dave?”

“That’s not really the word I would use to describe it, but sure love.” Dave’s eyes were still glinting. He didn’t understand how anyone could treat Klaus like this, let alone his own siblings. The people he grew up with. No wonder he was so willing to stay in the past with him. 

“Definitely not the way I’d describe it either, Klaus. Luther is a jackass.” Diego clapped Klaus on the shoulder. “I like your husband though.” He sat and watched them for a moment before gesturing to Ben. “So, you wanna tell me how you’re doing this?”

“What? Oh that? It’s no big thing. Got a lot of time to practice in the past. Dave helped me a lot. Turns out locking a child in a mausoleum full of violent ghosts for days on end ISN’T the best way to handle their fear of ghosts, or their eating issues. Just another thing to thank dad for, huh? Wanna see what else I can do?” With that he started floating, drifting over to sit above Dave’s head and play with his hair. “Fun, huh?”

Diego gaped. He’d had no idea Klaus could do anything like this. Wait… “That bastard locked you in a tomb???? When?”

“Well… most of my childhood. It started when I was eight. He stopped when we were about fourteen, when he realized I was getting to high for it to have any effect on me.” Klaus shrugged. “It’s not a big deal Diego, it’s been over for years. Decades really, and besides, he’s dead now! Yay!”

Dave reached up, pulled Klaus’ hand out of his hair and clasped it tightly. “It is a big deal love, remember how we talked about not dismissing your own trauma?”

“Ok, yes, it was a big deal, it was terrible and awful. But it’s over and I’m in a much better place now. Happy?”

“With you, always.”


End file.
